Gods of War
by alski86
Summary: Another crossover set after "Mightier Than The Sword', where one of The Doctor's worst enemies wrecks havoc on ancient Greece.
1. Chapter 1

The Sontarans were always on the lookout for new blood. Literally. The DNA pool from which all Sontarans were produced would eventually become stale. In order to stay ahead of their enemies, they needed new soldiers with better capabilities.

They would scour through history, searching for proper candidates. They already had some of the best warriors of Earth history in their files. Spartacus, Crixis, Onemaeus and Gannicus' samples had been collected from the blood they had all spilled in the arena of Capua. They had even collected from Batiatus and Ashur for their guile and cunning in the face of enemies.

The Sontarans didn't stumble across these names by accident. One of their chief analysers, Stomvic, had received transmissions of these fights in the arena and was incredibly impressed with their swordsmanship.

Sontarans didn't really understand the concept of television. Stomvic had taken the show 'Spartacus: Blood and Sand' to be a documentary, rather than a re-creation. He was always surprised when the gladiators themselves looked nothing like they did on his console screen.

Another "documentary" that had piqued his interest was 'Xena: Warrior Princess.' To Stomvic, it outlined the adventures of one of the greatest warriors in history. A female human whose courage changed the planet, as the documentary said. Stomvic didn't quite understand what that meant but it sounded impressive. Her genetic material would be precious to any Sontaran sqradron leader. Stomvic quickly packed his gene-splicer into his shuttle and set a course for Earth 147 B.C.

It had been a smooth journey so far, so Stomvic decided to watch another episode of the documentary. He muttered with disappointment. Another Gabrielle story. Stomvic didn't understand how the program could be explicitly called 'Xena: Warrior Princess' and not have the warrior princess in it. He couldn't fathom why a destroyer of nations would let a girl shadow her every move. Was to draw prey, like a sacrificial lamb?

'That must be it,' thought Stomvic.

As Stomvic's ship entered the Solar System, he was so engrossed in the show that he forgot to factor in the asteroid belt between the fourth and fifth planet. The ship hit the belt at 2,183 miles per second causing little damage to the sphere, but completely destroying the ship's rockets.

Stomvic tried desperately to regain control of the vessel, attempting to fire the reverse thrusters. However, the thrusters had be ripped clean off as the ship had passed through the belt.

Now with no rockets or reverse thrusters, the silver sphere span out of control at high speed towards the blue planet, the vacuum of space offering no resistance to its current velocity.

* * *

The Gods of old were never big on star-gazing. There was no point in them contemplating higher powers. They _were_ the higher power.

So when a vessel from the stars crashed-landed outside Ares' temple, he just HAD to check it out. It was a silver sphere. Not large, but enough to fit one person.

He teleported down from Mount Olympus to where the ship lay smoldering. It was a bright and sunny morning. Birds were chirping and there was a sweet smell in the air. Artemis was really working her magic today. Nature wasn't really his thing, but Ares had to give his sister props. She did good work. Work that was being ruined by the smoke from the wreckage.

Ares walked around the outside of the silver sphere, trying to find an entrance. As he walked past it, the door to the ship burst open and a hideously deformed creature stepped out. It was a short stocky figure with a dome shaped head. In its hand was a weapon that Ares had never seen before.

Before Ares could remark on the weapon, the creature turned it towards Ares and fired. Ares ducked and jumped to the side quickly throwing a bolt of lightning at the soldier.

The soldier stood stunned for a moment before falling to the ground, dead.

Ares stood up slowly and walked towards the fallen creature.

"Ugh!" he said in disgust.

He turned back to the ship. He cautiously walked to the front door.

"Hello?" Ares called, timidly.

He checked himself. He was the god of WAR.

"HELLO!" he bellowed, this time more manly.

When he received no answer, he stepped inside the ship.

He took one look around and instantly recognised it for what it was. A warship. Weapons, food, medicine. All the bare essentials, no frills.

"My kind of people," he said to himself.

He went over to the control station of the ship. The station was covered in switches and dials. They were all dark and silent.

Ares began searching for the power source of the vessel. It may be a loose connection or something.

"Ah!" he pulled away suddenly, clasping his finger.

He saw blood on the console. He had pricked himself on a protruding needle. This worried him. Gods don't bleed. He leaned over and examined the needle. Its metal looked familiar, similar in texture to the metal of Hephaestus.

Just then there was a noise of something electric behind him. He turned around and saw a booth that lit up and seeming to be filling with a strange fleshy liquid. The form became denser and more defined as ares stared in wonder.

'What in tartarus?" he said.

The glow disappeared and the door opened. The fully formed man stepped out of the both. He was tall, with dark curly hair and handsome rugged features.

A smile spread across Ares' face as he stood there looking at a perfect replica of himself.


	2. Chapter 2

The kettle had just finished boiling when the TARDIS console scanner registered the Sontaran vessel. The Doctor rushed to the kitchen, took the kettle off the stove, poured the water into his favourite mug and left it brewing on the counter before running back to investigate the Sontaran signal.

It was definitely Earth. He checked the console time display. Gallifrey designated time zone, A2B1098-Q4. What was that? 100-200BC? The Doctor was terrible with figures, but it felt right to him. He'd been here only briefly in the past, but he'd developed an instinct for Earth time periods.

What the devil are the Sontarans doing in ancient Greece? The Doctor thought to himself.

He set the time rotar and the space co-ordinates for the TARDIS to materialise a few miles away from the Sontaran ship. No point in drawing attention to himself, especially with a race like the Sontarans. There was a village several miles away. He'd park there and walk the rest of the way.

He left the console and went back to the kitchen. His tea was coming along nicely. He went to the fridge and took out the milk. The expiry date read 25 SEPT 2013.

"Now how long ago was that?" he said to himself.

It had been a while since he'd picked up milk. There was no telling how long it would last in the TARDIS. Sometimes he could keep it in stasis and make an average bottle last 5 years. Other times, like when the ship got stuck in a time loop, a new bottle could turn rancid in a matter of minutes.

That was the first time he had met Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer. The last time-loop he got stuck in was caused by Aphrodite. It was set for Xena so she could save a pair of star-crossed lovers. He'd have been stuck forever if Xena hadn't finally solved the problem in the village. They'd only met briefly while the TARDIS was recovering from the shock.

The Doctor opened the carton and took a sniff. He drew back immediately, gagging. The smell was putrid. It must have been sitting there for at least a year without stasis.

He threw the foul-smelling milk carton into the bin, and marched back to the TARDIS console. He would never leave milk sitting there for that long. Something must have happened. He tapped the computer keyboard, bought up the travel log and studied the list.

"Oh, of course," he muttered.

Not long ago, Xena and Gabrielle had unwittingly summoned the TARDIS through time. Aphrodite was again behind this, giving them an enchanted scroll that made anything they wrote come true.

The travel log was telling him that when the TARDIS was summoned back through time, she didn't travel at the break-neck speed the Doctor liked to travel. More like a brisk stroll, taking roughly 1 year, 4 months and 27 days to travel from 1993 AD to 147 BC.

The Doctor looked up at the time rotar as it moved up and down.

"I must get some milk while I'm out," he muttered to himself.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Gabrielle asked, cocking her head to the wind.

"Hear what?" Xena asked.

"It sounded like the TARDIS," Gabrielle said.

Xena rolled her eyes.

"Gabrielle," she said, "You've been hearing the TARDIS every day since that thing with the scroll. It's… not…. him!"

"I swear I really heard it this time!" Gabrielle exclaimed.

Xena had almost had enough of this. Since their little adventure in the TARDIS, bird calls, the wind through the trees, the rushing water in a passing stream had been mistaken for the ship's groaning engines.

Gabrielle had so many questions she wanted to ask the Doctor. So much had happened since they had last met. It wasn't too long ago that Xena and Gabrielle were at war against each other. The fighting had become so bad that their spirits were summoned to Illusia by Solan. In Illusia, they saw each other's heartache and each other's anger. They understood each other just as they had before and in doing so, formed an even stronger bond.

'Did the doctor know this would happen?' was Gabrielle's question.

As they made their way into another village, Xena looked around for other possible sources of the noise. But all they both saw were people rushing around, battering down the hatches and turning their homes into fortresses.

"What's going on?" Gabrielle asked one of the villagers.

"Get to safety, both of you!" he shouted. "It's the gods of war!"

"Gods?" Xena asked in horror.

* * *

The Doctor was walking around with a pint of milk in his carrier bag, inspecting the fruit and vegetables of the village marketplace, when a soldier came running through the village covered in battle scars yelling "RUN! ALL OF YOU! RUN!" before collapsing to the ground.

The Doctor dropped his bag, shattering his new bottle of milk. He ran towards the fallen soldier. People were already gathering around. The Doctor pushed his way through to get to the soldier.

"Let me through, I'm a doctor," he yelled.

"What's wrong?" a village girl asked.

"He's been attacked. Viciously," The Doctor said, noting the burns on the soldiers.

He cradled the soldier's head in his arms.

"It's alright, shh," he cooed, "I'm a doctor. Tell me what happened."

"Wiped out," the soldier said, struggling to speak. "Too powerful."

The soldier passed out. Shell shock in its extreme. The Doctor closed his eyes. He knew it was down to him to stop the Sontarans. He turned to the village girl.

"Look after him," the Doctor said, "I have to get to the bottom of this."

* * *

"Gods of War?" Gabrielle said, turning to Xena, "what's going on, Xena?"

"I don't know," Xena said. "but we're in trouble if Ares is bringing in friends."

"Look out!" they heard someone yell, "Here they come!"

As the two figures walked into the village, Xena's stomach turned and Gabrielle's mouth fell open. There standing before them were two identical figures of Ares. They noticed Xena and Gabrielle and made bee-line towards them. Xena drew her sword while Gabrielle held her staff,ready to attack.

"One more step and you're dead meat," Xena said in her most menacing tone.

The gods stopped in their tracks. They looked at each other, clearly surprised that Xena was standing up to them.

Ares' doppelganger remarked, "This warrior woman shows considerable ability." He then looked over to Gabrielle. "The blonde is of no significance to us."

"We'll see about that," Gabrielle shot back.

"Hello, Ares," Xena greeted, keeping her cool, "who's your new pal?"

"You like him, Xena?" Ares asked playfully, "I call him Mars."

"Nice," Xena said, "and what do you and Mars plan on doing together?"

"We are going to take over the world and turn it into our own little play pen." Mars said, grinning manically.

"I don't think so, boys," Xena replied.

Xena leapt forward, every move of her sword was a killing stroke. Or would've been, but the gods moved with surprising agility. They had elected not to use their powers and resorted to hand-to-hand combat. It was like they were toying with her. Every kick Xena threw was deflected, every punch blocked.

Gabrielle was having a worse time, not being as experienced as Xena. She hit nothing but air with her staff until it was grabbed by Ares and snapped in half.

Mars even managed to steal Xena's sword from her grasp. In a last ditch attempt, she jumped into the air and flipped, screaming her battle cry, intending to bring down the two gods but they possessed in incredible strength and Mars managed to pick up Gabrielle and fling her at Xena as she came down, sending both of them into one of the abandoned shop stalls.

* * *

The Doctor heard the battle and ran towards the commotion as all the villagers were running away.

He finally got to the clearing at the entrance of the village, just in time to see none other than Xena and Gabrielle being thrown into a local stall.

The two gods advanced on them as Xena and Gabrielle tried unsuccessfully to get to their feet. They were about to throw thunderbolts at them when they were interrupted by a voice.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" it shouted.

Ares and Mars turned to face the direction the voice came from. Mars shook with rage.

"WHO ARE YOU TO GIVE US ORDERS?" He bellowed.

Xena and Gabrielle looked up to see Mars yelling in the direction of an alley way. They then turned towards the man who had shouted.

"The Doctor!" exclaimed Gabrielle.

"Hello, Gabrielle!" the Doctor said, with a smile.

Ares' eyes widened. "The _Doctor?_"

The Doctor turned to Ares, with a concerned look on his face. "My reputation precedes me," he said.

"Aphrodite's mentioned you," Ares replied. "Olympus is abuzz with word about you and your TARDIS. I'd quite like to check it out myself," he smiled.

"Never mind that," the Doctor snapped. "What have you done? How have you cloned yourself? Or have you split like a virus? OR…" he paused, "have you cloned yourself using the Sontarans' ship?" he asked, suspecting he'd hit the nail on the head.

"I'm the God of War, Doc," Ares said, "and I think it's my duty to have a little fun."

"FUN!" the Doctor shouted, "This thing," he pointed at the clone, "has the capability to destroy this planet, and you're just letting his creature roam free!"

"My name is MARS!" the doppelganger whispered, menacingly.

"Take it easy, man," Ares said putting his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm telling you he's dangerous," the Doctor warned.

Ares stood calmly, "So am I, Doc."

"You should listen to the Doctor," Xena warned, dusting herself off.

"Whatever," Ares waved his hand, dismissing any further argument. "This party's dead now anyway. C'mon, man," he motioned to Mars.

"Wait!" the Doctor started.

But it was too late. Ares and Mars had disappeared. The Doctor stood there with a very solemn look on his face.

His face brightened when Gabrielle came running over to him. She put her arms around him in a big bear hug.

"It's so good to see you again, Doctor," she gushed.

"A pleasure, Gabrielle," he said.

He turned to Xena, who smiled and put her hand out. The Doctor shook it.

"Do you make habit of turning up unexpected?" Xena asked.

"Always," the Doctor smiled. Xena smiled back.

"Doctor, who's Mars?" Gabrielle said, "Do you know what he is?"

"He is the product of the most ruthless and deadly warriors in the universe. Every planet they land on, they take over. Only this time it's so much worse," the Doctor said.

"Why?" Xena asked.

"Because now," the Doctor said, "it has the God of War on its side."


	3. Chapter 3

Xena, Gabrielle and the Doctor were at a tavern in the village. The other villagers regarded them with suspicion and gave them a wide berth. They had all seen the group's confrontation with the two gods and thought he must be suicidal That made it easier for the Doctor to give Xena and Gabrielle the low-down on their new enemy. Gabrielle had picked up a stick from the wreck of the abandoned stall and was fashioning another staff as they spoke.

"Sontarans are designed to fight, both physically and mentally," the Doctor said, "but this one's different, far more humanoid than its predecessors."

"What do its predecessors look like?" Gabrielle asked.

The Doctor explained, "Well, normally, they are quite short and stocky. Their heads are a distinguishing feature. I say heads but they're more like domes. No necks, you see."

"So why is this one so different?" asked Xena.

"There was a Sontaran ship that crashed not far from here," the Doctor said. "My best guess is that the crash damaged the cloning unit in the vessel and switched off the limiter."

"Limiter?" Gabrielle asked, puzzled.

"The cloning unit needs a limiter so that the Sontaran clones don't become too human," the Doctor explained. "you see, they only want certain parts of the human to form their race. I'm talking about muscle, cunning, ruthlessness. They don't want all the attributes of a human being, otherwise they would have to deal with love, mercy and conscience. Sontarans don't want that."

Xena leant forward. "Then we have to find a way to get rid of the Sontaran God. He's strong but there's only one of him…"

The Doctor shook his head. "Xena, if the ship did clone Ares, it means his DNA…" he stopped for a second, remembering this was Ancient Greece and not the 21st Century. He continued, "the ship knows how to make more copies of Ares," he said, choosing his words carefully."

"We have to find that ship before Ares finds the power," Gabrielle said, hurriedly.

"It's not Ares I'm worried about," the Doctor said.

"Why, Doctor?" Xena asked, concerned.

"You see, Sontarans are all inbued with a hatred of any life that isn't Sontaran. You might say it's their birth rite," the doctor said, "now, if you inject those feelings into the body of a god, a WAR god, no less…"

"He'd be unstoppable," Xena finished.

"He will be looking to cement his immortality, first and foremost." The Doctor said.

"So he'd want to find Ambrosia?" asked Xena.

"Yes," the Doctor replied, "after that, he could have enough power to generate 100 gods of war."

"Oh gods," Gabrielle whispered, horrified at the thought. "So what can we do?" she asked.

"We have to get Ares on our side," the Doctor said, sternly.

* * *

Ares had taken Mars back to his temple to work out their strategy.

"We could have a lot of fun with these mortals!" Ares said, excitedly. "We could pit two armies against each other, you on one side, me on the other, and watch them all wipe themselves out!"

Mars sniggered, putting his hand to his face. He was shaking his head.

"Problem?" Ares asked, challengingly.

"Nope, nothing," Mars said, smiling, "That's the best you can come up with, huh?"

Ares paused. He wasn't used to being questioned, but he didn't mind too much. He was talking to himself, after all.

"Got a better idea?" he asked.

"Yeah, how 'bout we cut out the middle men, and take this world ourselves?" Mars said, "We have more than enough power to cut down armies between us."

Ares stopped him. "No, these warriors worship me, us, and we need their worship if we want to survive."

"What are you, a man or A GOD!" Mars bellowed as he punched one of the walls of the temple, knocking it down. "We don't need them. They are inferior and deserve to be destroyed!"

"KNOW YOUR PLACE, MARS," Ares shouted back, "YOU ARE NOT THE GOD OF WAR! I AM!"

Mars laughed. "God of War? You're not fit to be the god of SPORT!"

Ares was filled with rage. He threw a bolt of energy at the clone, enough to kill 20 mortals. Mars merely caught the energy ball and added his own power to the orb.

"You are inferior," Mars said, a grim smile on his face, "this world is mine!"

He threw the ball of light at Ares. The blast knocked Ares to the ground. He barely had enough power to fight back, so with his last ounce of energy, he teleported away from the temple.

Mars laughed, "That's it! Run! The real war god has arrived!"


	4. Chapter 4

It turned out that Ares' temple was several days walk from the village so Xena and Gabrielle loaded up Argo and, along with the Doctor, made their way towards the temple. As they continued down the road, they were met by several peasants, pulling wagons carrying all their belongings. They told stories of the god of war, who was now calling himself Mars, walking into their townships and taking them by force. Some soldiers stayed to fight with swords and bows & arrows. All were slaughtered.

"If we don't hurry, there'll be nothing left for us to save," Gabrielle cried.

"If we don't hurry, Mars is likely to get bored," the Doctor remarked.

Xena stopped the Doctor in his tracks. "Do you think this is a joke? People are dying and you're worried about his interest?"

"Xena, Sontarans are a fighting race," the Doctor explained, "and if nobody fights back, or if the people who are fighting back are easily beaten, he's going to look for someone more challenging."

"Like Ares?" asked Gabrielle.

"Precisely," said the Doctor.

At that moment, Xena stopped. She halted Argo and stood dead still. Gabrielle and the Doctor were watching her, curiously.

"Something is wrong," Xena said, quietly. "Ares?" she called out, uncertainly.

A few yards in front of them, Ares appeared out of thin air. He was looking bad, as though someone had beaten him and flung him around like a rag doll.

"Xena!" he called out meekly, then fell to the ground.

"Oh my word!" cried the Doctor, as he rushed to his aid.

Xena wasn't quite so enthusiastic. She walked over to where Ares lay, the Doctor leaning over Ares, checking his wounds.

"What happened, Ares?" she asked.

"Xena, we all know what happened! The only thing we can do now is help him!" said the Doctor, immediately taking control.

"At least we don't have to worry about getting him on our side," Gabrielle said.

Ares turned to the doctor, "You were right! He's insane! What are we gonna do?"

To Xena, it actually seemed as if Ares was frightened. This filled her with dread.

"If he's vulnerable to Mars, how do we defeat him?" she asked the Doctor.

The Doctor continued checking Ares over for internal injuries as he spoke.

"The way I see it, we have two options," he said, "one; we can run away and let Mars have his way with this planet and its people. Or two; we run to where he is and try to stop him ourselves before he causes anymore trouble."

The Doctor helped Ares to his feet. He was still a little woozy from the attack by Mars, but he was recovering quickly. He shook his head.

"You guys are nuts if you think you can take him down," Ares said, "I mean, Xena, you are perhaps the greatest warrior I've ever seen but Mars is as powerful as I am. I never defeated you in a fight because I…" he paused.

Xena and Gabrielle looked at each other with barely disguised disgust.

Ares continued, "he won't go easy on you. He won't think twice about killing you all."

"Can you walk?" the Doctor asked Ares.

"Yeah," Ares said.

"Then we best keep moving," the Doctor said, then he continued walking along the road to the temple.

"Why don't we just teleport there?" Gabrielle asked, "or take the TARDIS?"

"Because I don't have a plan yet!" the Doctor yelled back over his shoulder.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a long day's walk and they were still only halfway there. It had taken its toll on Gabrielle, who was now riding Argo and regain her strength to walk. The Doctor was walking along side and enjoying a lovely conversation with Argo. From what Gabrielle could make out they seemed to be talking about the weather, apples and how they feel about the Warrior Princess.

"Oh, I very much agree," the Doctor would say once in a while, patting Argo on the head.

Gabrielle couldn't be entirely sure if the Doctor had gone mad or if he was actually talking to Argo, and if he was, what was Argo saying about her?

There were other questions on her mind that she felt needed answering. She gathered up her courage and said, "Doctor?"

"Yes?" he answered.

"Did you know what would happen? I mean with Hope and Solan?" she asked this quietly, so Xena wouldn't hear her.

"Yes, Gabrielle, I'm afraid I did," the Doctor said, solemnly, "I'm sorry I couldn't…" he started.

"It's okay," Gabrielle said, "I wouldn't have wanted to know."

They walked on in silence for a while. Gabrielle was smiling to herself, while the Doctor held on to Argo's reigns. He looked up and saw Gabrielle's smile.

"How did you and Xena manage to stay friends?" the Doctor asked, "that part has always made me wonder."

"We settled our differences in Illusia," Gabrielle replied.

"I see," the Doctor nodded, turning back to the road. Gabrielle could see from the look on his face that he didn't really, but she stayed silent.

Xena and Ares were walking behind them, watching the Doctor.

Ares leaned over to her, "so you've been in his TARDIS right?"

"Right," Xena said simply.

"Aphrodite was saying…" Ares started.

"A blue box that's bigger on the inside, that travels through time and space," Xena finished.

"Wow," Ares quietly exclaimed, "imagine what you could do with a ship like…"

Xena turned a looked Ares straight in the eye.

"If you even think about it one more time, I'll tear out your heart and feed it to you. Got it?" Xena smiled, half-joking, half-not.

Ares smiled back.

Just then, a small army of thugs surrounded them. Their camouflage had been perfect. They had been hiding in the trees, in the undergrowth at the side of the road and even on the road itself. They were representatives of Mars. His Sontaran knowledge of warfare had taught these soldiers well.

"We seek Ares, the old god of war," the thug leader demanded.

"What the devil are you playing at?" shouted the Doctor.

Ares put his hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "I'll handle this."

He stepped towards the leader, "Look pal, I don't know what Mars-y's told you but the title of 'war god' hasn't changed. I think you better get out of here before I get mad," he said, threateningly.

"My god, Mars, has a message for you," the leader said.

"I'm listening," Ares said.

The doctor watched as the Ancient Greek soldier pulled out a Sontaran laser pistol and fired it at Ares. It barely missed Ares as he ducked out of the way, and quickly grabbed the strange object from the soldier's grasp and threw him a hundred yards into the woods, slamming him into a tree.

"Now, that's just cheating," Ares said, dropping the pistol. He flexed his muscles as he geared up to fight back against these treacherous soldiers.

Xena and Gabrielle also jumped into battle while the Doctor tried to keep his distance. He may have been a fighting man in another life but that was many lifetimes ago. His technique for Venusian Aikido was a bit rusty. He watched the others fight, taking in their skills with great interest.

Xena's prowess with a sword was unlike anything he'd ever seen. She possessed a strength that seemed almost god-like. Unlike Ares, who seemed to fall back on his powers to fight off mortal soldiers, Xena seemed to have an understanding of all forms of combat and could move effortlessly from one to the next. These thugs clearly had no idea what they were dealing with.

Gabrielle too was quite the accomplished fighter. Though she did not wield a deadly weapon, her skill with the staff was successful in bringing three of the eight men to the ground. However, two men managed to get behind her and knock her down. They then charged at Xena.

Xena sensed this was battle too large to fight with a sword and flung her chakram, taking down each man in a semi-circle before returning to her hand. The Doctor was astonished at the accuracy Xena was able to achieve. The chakram is such a difficult weapon to master, the Doctor knew from experience.

He didn't have time to reminice, though, as another thug saw an easy target and went for him. The Doctor, armed only with an umbrella, deflected a few of the thug's sword blows. However, the thug was a little too quick for him and as soon as he saw an opening, he ran his sword straight threw the Doctor's chest.

"NO!" Gabrielle screamed, running to the Doctor.

"I've had enough of this," Ares grunted.

He stared at the remaining soldiers and, in his open hand, a ball of intense energy appeared and was glowing brighter and brighter. Ares stared down the soldiers, daring them to make a move. The soldiers turned to each other and made the wise decision to run for their lives.

Ares yelled after them, "YOU TELL MARS WE'RE GONNA KILL HIM, GOT IT!"

Xena ran over to where the Doctor lay, his head nestled in Gabrielle's arms. He'd already started coughing up blood. Xena laid her hands on the Doctor's neck to check his pulse. Make that pulse_s_. Xena's hand drew back. She looked at the Doctor and he smiled, his teeth were bloodied.

"Two hearts," he said simply.

"Xena, what are we going to do?" Gabrielle asked, tear rolling down her face.

"We'll set up camp," Xena said, "We'll continue in the morning."

"No," the Doctor started, "the Sontaran…"

"You're wounded, Doctor," Xena said, "and since you're not human, I can't tell what will happen to you until you tell us about yourself."

The Doctor conceded.

* * *

As Gabrielle worked on healing the Doctor's wounds as best she could, Xena was asking the Doctor about his life.

So far she'd been able to ascertain that Time lords came from a world called Gallifrey, they were all born with two hearts and they were all able to regenerate their bodies when they were sick or damaged. He told Xena, Gabrielle and Ares of his previous lives and how they had been vastly different to the life he lives now. His body seemed to be regenerating now. The wound in his chest had completely healed and now his body was glowing golden. But he was somehow holding back, stopping his regeneration from happening.

"Why don't you just regenerate?" Gabrielle pleaded with him.

"Time lords have finite number of regenerations, and I don't want to waste one on a simple flesh wound!" the Doctor said, stubbornly.

"You could die, Doctor," Ares said.

"Listen, all of you," the Doctor said, "imagine everything you know about yourself, the food you enjoy, the colour of your eyes, the activities you love. Everything changes in one blinding instant and you become another person. You don't know the first thing about yourself. That is what happens every time I regenerate. And I _like_ the person I am now!" the Doctor said, before collapsing onto his back.

Xena and Gabrielle tried to hold him down, to calm him, but the moment they touched his skin, they recoiled. His skin was boiling hot, the regenerative energy was not dissipating.

"I have to concentrate," said the Doctor, "just leave me alone, I'll manage."

They left the Doctor to his own devices. Ares vowed to keep a look-out for any more of Mars' henchmen. Eventually Gabrielle went to sleep while Xena sharpened her sword, keeping one eye on the glowing figure of the Doctor.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Xena and Gabrielle packed up Argo and were getting ready to continue towards Ares' temple. Ares was also keen to get moving, the sooner, the better.

The Doctor had been moving slowly the whole morning. The night of meditating had not helped his cause and he still glowed with regenerative energy. The glow came and went like a pulse. It took every ounce of his concentration to keep it under control.

Walking towards the temple had been a slow ordeal as well. The Doctor could not walk too fast, so the others were constantly stopping to wait for him. He couldn't ride on top of Argo because the heat radiating off his body would've burnt her.

Finally they found Ares' temple. The silver sphere sitting outside glimmered in the sun.

"Wow," Gabrielle said, enamoured.

She put her hand out to touch it.

"No!" Ares exclaimed, "the last time I did that, Mars was born."

Gabrielle put he hand down and followed Xena, the Doctor and Ares into the temple.

"Mars!" Xena called.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are!" the Doctor whispered.

Gabrielle had her staff over her shoulder and as she turned around, she knocked over a very fine vase behind her. It crashed to the ground causing them all to jump.

"Sorry," Gabrielle said sheepishly.

A voice replied, "Not as sorry as you're gonna be!"

They turned around and saw Mars sitting on the throne at the end of the temple. At either side stood a Sontaran. Even though they had a small stature, it was a menacing sight.

"Ah! Just the man we were after," The Doctor whispered, doggedly.

"Whoa, you don't look so good, Doc," Mars laughed.

"I see you're 'brothers' aren't quite up to scratch," the Doctor said, noting his two Sontaran guards.

"I fixed the limiter. Every god needs underlings," Mars said, "and besides, there can't be two war gods," he turned to Ares, "can there?"

Ares stared back, filled with rage.

Xena turned to Ares and whispered, "What are you waiting for?"

"What? He's too strong," Ares said, indignantly.

Xena looked at Ares, incredulously.

"This fraud is taking over your domain and you're just gonna let him?" Xena challenged. "He showed you the slightest bit of resistance and you fold?"

"Of course, he folds!" Mars said, mocking Ares, "Zeus forbid he would ever have to earn his keep!"

With that Ares jumped at Mars. The two Sontaran guards stepped forward to intervene but were confronted by Xena. The Sontarans were strong and fast but Xena wasn't giving up, though her blows didn't seem to be making much of an impact.

As Xena distracted the two Sontarans, Ares and Mars were trading blows that roared like thunder. Mars picked Ares up over his head and threw him into the wall at the end of the chapel. Ares got up and fired quick bursts of energy at Mars, disorienting him.

Meanwhile, as Xena fought the two Sontarans head on, Gabrielle approached them from behind and saw an opening at the back of their collars. Not knowing if it would be any help, Gabrielle delivered a huge hit to the back of one of the Sontaran's necks with her staff. The Sontaran let out a scream and fell to the ground.

Xena and Gabrielle were dumbfounded. They looked at the Doctor, who was still trying to contain his regenerative energy without success.

"It's a nutrition valve," He strained as he yelled, "everything they eat and drink goes through it. It's they're only vulnerable point."

Xena and Gabrielle then rounded on the remaining Sontaran. Realising his weak point was exposed to Gabrielle, he took a step to the side so that he was facing both women head-on, back to the wall.

There was silence as Xena and the Sontaran locked eyes.

"BOO!" Xena yelled, frightening the Sontaran. It jumped back into the wall, hitting his nutrition valve, knocking himself out.

Behind them, Ares and Mars were still fighting. There seemed to be no end to their energy. The Doctor tried to step in, still struggling to contain his regenerative energy.

"You stay out of this, old man!" Mars yelled as he back-handed the Doctor, sending him spinning back, into Xena and Gabrielle.

The two women caught him, only to let him go that instant. His entire body had reached past boiling point.

The Doctor composed himself, then looked down at his hands. His left hand was glowing brighter than his right.

"That's it!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Ares and Mars had their hands at each other's throats, crashing into the walls of the temple. The whole scene was collapsing around them and in the middle of it, the Doctor began to spin around on the spot with his left arm extended out. As he span faster and faster, the golden glow of his body began to shift.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" Xena yelled.

"Creating a centrifuge," the doctor replied, suddenly feeling better now he knew exactly what to do. "If I can force all the energy into my arm, I may be able to get rid it!"

"How?" asked Gabrielle.

"I suggest you run for cover!" the Doctor yelled back. He'd stopped spinning and was now rotating his arm vertically, his arm glowing hotter and hotter by the second.

Xena and Gabrielle stayed where they were. They wanted to know exactly what the Doctor had planned. The realisation dawned on Xena.

"Doctor, don't do it!" Xena shouted.

"I told you to get back!" he shouted back. "I warned you!"

He started spinning his arm at the elbow. He clenched his fist as he ran into the middle of fight.

"ARES, LOOK OUT!" the Doctor yelled.

Ares quickly dashed out of the way as the Doctor jumped up at Mars and punched him square in the jaw. The Doctor's regenerative energy was unleashed with a deep reverberating 'POW' that echoed off the temple walls, sending Mars flying into the wall, knocking him stone dead.

The soundwave generated by the punch was too much for the already weakened structure of the temple.

"EVERYBODY OUT!" yelled Xena, as she and Gabrielle rushed out into the clearing outside.

The Doctor was still standing in the centre of the temple looking down at his hands. The glow was gone and he was back to normal. He'd finally got rid of the energy that had plagued him so long. But what was the price?

Ares broke in to his reverie, "Come on, Doc," he said, grabbing the Doctor and teleporting the pair out of the falling building.


	7. Chapter 7

Outside, Xena, Gabrielle and Ares stood and watched as the temple finally fell to the ground.

"Son of a bacchae," Ares sighed, "I loved that place."

Gabrielle turned Ares to say something but then she saw the Doctor, who was still staring at his hands with a worried look on his face.

She walked over to him and put an arm around his shoulder.

"It's alright, Doctor," Gabrielle said, "you did what needed to be done."

The Doctor looked up and smiled.

"Oh, I know that," he said, reassuringly, "I don't regret doing it. It's just that…"

Xena looked over.

"What is it, Doctor?" she asked.

"Regeneration is a difficult process that requires an immense amount of energy to complete," he said, "and I've had just wasted it on a Sontaran. I don't know if I'll have enough energy for when I really do need it."

Ares smiled, "I wouldn't say 'wasted' it. You got me back my title. I have you to thank for that!"

The Doctor snarled, "don't mention it."

Ares turned to Xena.

"Well, it's been fun hanging out together hasn't it. Fighting side by side? What's say you and me…"

"No," was Xena's firm answer.

"Still prefer blondes, huh?" he looked over to Gabrielle, who let the slightest of smiles cross her lips.

"Maybe next time, huh?" Ares asked Xena.

"Oh sure," said Xena sarcastically, then added "maybe."

With that, Ares disappeared leaving the Doctor, Xena and Gabrielle standing next to the crashed Sontaran ship.

"So," Gabrielle said, turning to the Doctor, "what's going to happen to this?" she pointed to the wrecked ship.

"I'll get it into the TARDIS and dismantle it," the Doctor said as they started walking away from the ship back to the village.

"How are you going to get that into the TARDIS?" Xena asked.

As they were walking away, they heard the slow groan of the TARDIS. The Doctor quickly motioned for them all to take cover. As they watched, the police box materialised around the Sontaran ship, until the ship disappeared from view.

"How does it know where we are?" asked Gabrielle. "Can we go inside again."

"You can, I mustn't," the Doctor said, collecting his hat and umbrella.

"Why?" asked Gabrielle.

"I have to get back to **my** TARDIS," he called back, as he walked away.

Xena and Gabrielle turned and followed him.

"If we're trying to get back to your TARDIS, aren't we going the wrong way?" Xena asked. As she asked, she turned to see the TARDIS disappearing along with the Sontaran ship. "Where is it going?"

"What you just saw was my future," the Doctor said. "As soon as we get back to the village and leave, I will come back to that very spot back there, pick up the wreck and take it with me. The less time it spends on Earth, the better."

"Fancy some company on the walk back," Gabrielle offered.

"That would be lovely," the Doctor said, "but you must remind me to pick up some milk before I leave."

"Sure thing, Doctor," Xena said as the three of them made their way back to the village.


End file.
